Method of making welting



Oct; 22, 1929. I w, GREENE 7 1,732,810

METHOD OF MAKING WEL'I'ING Filed. April 24. 1928 Patented Oct. 22, 1929 UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE PERCY W. GREENE. OF WHITMAN, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO PEBLEY E. BAR- BOUR, OF QUINCY, MASSACHUSETTS, TRADING AS BARBOUB WELTING COMPANY,

OF BROCKTON, MASSACHUSETTS METHOD OF MAKING WELTING Application fl1ed April 24,

This invention relates to the manufacture of shoe Welting of a type that may be used as a single unit in place of regular Goodyear welting or that may be used as a top unit or deck in two-unit welting.

The novel welting maiuifactured in accordance with this invention, in contradistinction to the usual method of preparing welting, is formed from a welt strip that is grooved on its grain side and beveled on its flesh side. The process of manufacture includes folding the material in such manner that the grain is presented not only on the exposed face but also on the outer edge thus providing an integral, high-custom finish not obtainable by the usual method of staining and edge setting the flesh stock that forms the edge of Goodyear and like welting.

To the accomplishment of these objects and such others as may hereinafter appear, the invention comprises the process of manufacturing welting hereinafter described and then particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

The welting in its preferred forms is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, all the Views being in perspective, and in which Figure 1 is a view of a Welt strip, wider than the finished welting, prepared for folding;

Fig. 2 is a view of melting formed by cementing and folding the prepared strip of Fig. 1 Fig. 3 shows a slightly modified form; Fig. 4 shows the preferred form moulded to provide a bead; Fig. 5 shows a portion of a shoe, in cross-section, having the welt ofFig. 4; and Fig. 6 shows a portion of another shoe, in cross-section, illustrating theemployment of the welt as the top deck of two unit welt mg.

In Figs. 1 to 4 of the drawing, illustrating successive steps of the method of manufacture, a strip 10, preferably of welting leather having a grain side G and a flesh side F, is beveled at 11 on its flesh side and grooved at 12 on its grain side below the bevel. The flesh side is also cut away longitudinally throughout its central area to weaken this area and provide a hinge for folding. The longitudinal cut is preferably a shall0w-V groove and may be greater in depth at its 1928. Serial No. 272,461.

center than one half of the thickness of the strip 10. The two flanks 14 and 15 of the I flank 15 may terminate at the other edge of the strip in one form (see Fig. 3), or it may terminate at a flesh shoulder 16 produced by removing a strip from the flesh leaving a grain flap 18. in another form (see Fig. 2). The flanks, shoulder and flap are then cemerited.

Having prepared the blank as illustrated by Fig. 1 the production of wedgeshaped welting 1s completed by doubling the strip about the weakened central area, bringing the two flanks in contact which leaves the bevel 11 exposed, and then bending the grain flap 18 down over the flesh shoulder 16. The ]01IlflS are made secure, and a unitary article formed, by pressure between suitably shaped rolls. The advantage of the grain flap 18 is that when the welting is sewed into a shoe there will be a grain inner corner on the welt that will engage and match the finish of the upper material and will effectually prevent any exposure of the flesh at this point.

For cheaper grades of shoes the grain flap is not essential and may be omitted as illustrated by Fig. 3. In this form the flesh shoulder 20 may be stained to simulate the grain. It will be observed that some stock is saved in making this form since the strip 10 may be narrower by an amount equal to the width of the grain flap 18.

The welting may be given the appearance of beaded welting by passing it through moulding rolls, after tempering, shaped to iron a crease 22 in the exposed face and round the inner margin of the upper layer or fold into a bead 24 as shown by Fig. 4. r

In Fig. 5 the beaded formis shown stitched to a shoe. The inseam stitclws 26 secure the welt W to the insole, extending from the grove 12 to behind the sewing-rib of the insole 28 as in sewing regular Goodyear welting.

In Fig. 6 the novel welting, manufactured as hereinbefore described, is shown employed as part of a two unit welt. The bottom or body unit consists of regular Goodyear welting 30 and the top deck or unit consists of strip of grain leather, cutting a shallow-V a strip W of the welting of this invention gro made from a strip 10 proportionately smaller cen than the size used for making welting as a the substitute for Goodyear welting. The exposed beveled edge 11 is bent down over the Goodyear welt bevel so that the inseam stitches 32 pass through both units to anchor them to the sewing rib of the insole 34.

Outseam stitching-36 secures an outsole 38 to the shoe, in the usual manner, in both cases. In using the welting manufactured according to this invention as asubstitute for Goodyear welting the under, or grooved, face is preferably bufi'ed to remove the grain from the greater portion of its width so as to provide a surface that will adhere to the cemented outsole. I

When the welting is manufactured from grain leather the outer edge is formed of unsevered or integral grain stock which imparts a stylish finish to the margin of the shoe when the welting is used as a substitute for Goodyear welting. Since the grain edge is substantially flush with the edge of the outsole care in both edge trimming and edge setting must be observed as indicated by Fig. 5.

The nature and scope of the invention having been indicated, and the method of manufacture having been specifically described, what is claimed as new, is

1. The method of making shoe welting which comprises preparing a strip of material for folding by forming a bevel at one corner and a shallow-V groove having flanks of equal width in the remainder of said strip, then folding the strip about the center of said groove as a hinge and securingthe two flanks together leaving said bevel exposed.

2. The method of making leather sho welting which comprises cutting a bevel at one flesh edge of a strip of grain leather, cutting a shallow-V groove having flanks of equal width adjacent said bevel, cutting a shoulder in the other flesh edge leaving a grain flap, then folding the strip about the center of said groove as a hinge, securing the two flanks together, and covering the flesh end of one fold with said grain flap.

3. The method of making leather shoe welting which comprises cutting a bevel at one flesh edge of a strip of grain leather,

cutting a shallow-V groove having flanksof equal width adjacentsaid bevel, cutting a shoulder in the other flesh edge leaving a grain flap, then folding the strip about the center of said groove as a hinge, securing the two flanks together, covering the flesh end of one fold with said grain flap, and moulding a head at the inner margin of the fold having said grain flap.

. 4:. The method of making a blank for producing wedge-shaped welting having grain at both outer and inner edges which comprises outting a bevel at one flesh edge of a ove having flanks of equal width adjat said bevel, and cutting a shoulder in other flesh edge leaving a grain flap.

PERCY W. GREENE. 

